The 2024 large holding firm businesses and indie behemoth Edelman’s PR income numbers are in and it’s time to take inventory.
It’s been a tumultuous 12 months for the occupation, advertising companies usually, in addition to enterprise, politics and international conflicts.
In line with PRWeek’s annual Company Enterprise Report, the highest 20 businesses sometimes make up round 80% of complete revenues, so whereas they don’t seem to be the be-all and end-all they definitely present a reputable bellwether for the efficiency of the entire trade.
Edelman shrank 4.5% globally in 2024 on a like-for-like foundation, 7.9% within the U.S. Nonetheless the world’s largest PR agency, Edelman suffered within the well being, tech and meals and beverage sectors, which CEO Richard Edelman mentioned had been bouncing again in Q1 2025.
Burson was down “mid-single digits” in 2024. WPP’s general PR numbers fell 1.7% throughout the 12 months, boosted by the presence of FGS World’s contribution, which continued to develop strongly late into This autumn when its disposal to PE agency KKR and FGS worker shareholders was accomplished. WPP won’t be able to fall again on that income cushion in 2025.
It’s additionally vital to notice that Ogilvy PR, which has had a few distinctive years creatively, doesn’t report its numbers into WPP’s PR division – it’s a part of the worldwide built-in businesses section (GIA) – so the uncooked PR numbers don’t inform the complete story of the holding firm’s earned media portfolio, although GIA’s general y-o-y income was down 3.9% general in 2024.
In an investor overview presentation final June, WPP billed Burson as a “High 2 international PR agency,” although I’d nonetheless place it behind Edelman and Weber Shandwick within the international income stakes.
Over at Interpublic Group, the PR corporations in its specialised communications and experiential group, together with Weber Shandwick and Golin, registered low-single-digit progress in 2024.
Omnicom’s PR corporations reported a y-o-y income enhance of three.7% in 2024, to $1.68 billion. Its PR corporations embrace FleishmanHillard, Ketchum, Mercury, Porter Novelli and Cone Communications.
The Omnicom PR Group’s two principal businesses, FleishmanHillard and Ketchum, weren’t the supply of the holding firm’s progress, which grew principally from its specialist corporations reminiscent of Maslansky & Companions and Daggerwing, and public affairs retailers together with Plus Communications and FP1 Methods. Omnicom PR at all times does properly in election years, benefiting from its GMMB political media shopping for arm, which is a part of Fleishman however operates comparatively independently.
The tumultuous nature of the sector is not going to be slowing down anytime quickly. One key milestone is March 18, when Omnicom and Interpublic shareholders will vote on the proposal for the John Wren-led holdco to amass Philippe Krakowsky’s IPG.
We’ve already seen layoffs at Edelman, Omnicom as a holding firm and Weber Shandwick. Firms reminiscent of Southwest Airways and Starbucks and plenty of others are laying folks off, together with comms professionals. There are different contractions occurring that haven’t but reached the general public area.
If the OmniPub acquisition deal does go the regulators and are available into fruition, the mixed enterprise shall be a lot leaner than its two constituent components. Interpublic is seemingly greasing the wheels of the regulatory course of by agreeing to purchase adverts on the Elon Musk-owned X once more, based on a current interview in The Wall Road Journal with CEO Linda Yaccarino.
PR corporations are utilizing the rationalization to proceed to rebalance the wage inflation that occurred throughout COVID-19, throughout which companies received costly to handle. Most of the layoffs at massive businesses are amongst senior, costly individuals who have spent many years at these corporations.
The cash saved throughout the pandemic because of the lack of property servicing, journey and bills prices was a short lived development that’s run its course – and the property rightsizing to account for a hybrid workforce has largely been accomplished. It’s all a part of the “doing extra with much less” equation.
AI is being ushered in quickly for a similar motive. For all of the speak of investing financial savings in higher-value artistic and strategic companies, there shall be reductions in head counts at junior ranges as sure duties are carried out by machines slightly than people.
On the massive consumer stage, margins have shrunk. Most large firms, particularly within the shopper and model sectors, aren’t rising, and the strain is filtering all the way down to businesses and different suppliers by way of lowered margins.
Working margin throughout WPP’s PR section in 2024 was 15.2%, barely down from the 16.2% of 2023 – GIA’s margins had been 15.8%, up from 15.2% within the 12 months prior.
Edelman reported 6.7% progress amongst its prime 100 purchasers, with a 2.8% uptick amongst international purchasers. However these kinds of account more and more require a level of overservicing that might finally result in a race to the underside.
And in case you lose a kind of large items of enterprise, the knock-on results are vital. Edelman has labored with Unilever for 40 years throughout the communication, company advisory and model advertising segments of the CPG behemoth. However the British-based multinational firm simply appointed a brand new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, after simply two years underneath the management of Hein Schumacher.
Elementary modifications reminiscent of which can be at all times going to position businesses on alert, although CEO Edelman notes his agency is “doing very properly with Unilever throughout Dove and 12-15 of the corporate’s different manufacturers.”
Midsize corporations are persevering with to prosper on this new actuality, offering nimble, artistic companies led by people who can nonetheless play lively roles with their businesses’ purchasers and supply the non-public service and senior counsel clients crave greater than ever.
Companies with vital numbers of presidency contracts shall be extraordinarily nervous given the dismantling of federal departments by the brand new Trump administration and decimation of budgets. And non-U.S.-based manufacturers particularly are anxious about Trump’s proposed commerce tariffs.
All of the above tendencies shall be analyzed additional in PRWeek’s upcoming Company Enterprise Report, which we’re working arduous on in the mean time. Do make sure to test it out because the influence of the brand new administration and the “extra with much less” setting proceed to play out available in the market.
The 2024 large holding firm businesses and indie behemoth Edelman’s PR income numbers are in and it’s time to take inventory.
It’s been a tumultuous 12 months for the occupation, advertising companies usually, in addition to enterprise, politics and international conflicts.
In line with PRWeek’s annual Company Enterprise Report, the highest 20 businesses sometimes make up round 80% of complete revenues, so whereas they don’t seem to be the be-all and end-all they definitely present a reputable bellwether for the efficiency of the entire trade.
Edelman shrank 4.5% globally in 2024 on a like-for-like foundation, 7.9% within the U.S. Nonetheless the world’s largest PR agency, Edelman suffered within the well being, tech and meals and beverage sectors, which CEO Richard Edelman mentioned had been bouncing again in Q1 2025.
Burson was down “mid-single digits” in 2024. WPP’s general PR numbers fell 1.7% throughout the 12 months, boosted by the presence of FGS World’s contribution, which continued to develop strongly late into This autumn when its disposal to PE agency KKR and FGS worker shareholders was accomplished. WPP won’t be able to fall again on that income cushion in 2025.
It’s additionally vital to notice that Ogilvy PR, which has had a few distinctive years creatively, doesn’t report its numbers into WPP’s PR division – it’s a part of the worldwide built-in businesses section (GIA) – so the uncooked PR numbers don’t inform the complete story of the holding firm’s earned media portfolio, although GIA’s general y-o-y income was down 3.9% general in 2024.
In an investor overview presentation final June, WPP billed Burson as a “High 2 international PR agency,” although I’d nonetheless place it behind Edelman and Weber Shandwick within the international income stakes.
Over at Interpublic Group, the PR corporations in its specialised communications and experiential group, together with Weber Shandwick and Golin, registered low-single-digit progress in 2024.
Omnicom’s PR corporations reported a y-o-y income enhance of three.7% in 2024, to $1.68 billion. Its PR corporations embrace FleishmanHillard, Ketchum, Mercury, Porter Novelli and Cone Communications.
The Omnicom PR Group’s two principal businesses, FleishmanHillard and Ketchum, weren’t the supply of the holding firm’s progress, which grew principally from its specialist corporations reminiscent of Maslansky & Companions and Daggerwing, and public affairs retailers together with Plus Communications and FP1 Methods. Omnicom PR at all times does properly in election years, benefiting from its GMMB political media shopping for arm, which is a part of Fleishman however operates comparatively independently.
The tumultuous nature of the sector is not going to be slowing down anytime quickly. One key milestone is March 18, when Omnicom and Interpublic shareholders will vote on the proposal for the John Wren-led holdco to amass Philippe Krakowsky’s IPG.
We’ve already seen layoffs at Edelman, Omnicom as a holding firm and Weber Shandwick. Firms reminiscent of Southwest Airways and Starbucks and plenty of others are laying folks off, together with comms professionals. There are different contractions occurring that haven’t but reached the general public area.
If the OmniPub acquisition deal does go the regulators and are available into fruition, the mixed enterprise shall be a lot leaner than its two constituent components. Interpublic is seemingly greasing the wheels of the regulatory course of by agreeing to purchase adverts on the Elon Musk-owned X once more, based on a current interview in The Wall Road Journal with CEO Linda Yaccarino.
PR corporations are utilizing the rationalization to proceed to rebalance the wage inflation that occurred throughout COVID-19, throughout which companies received costly to handle. Most of the layoffs at massive businesses are amongst senior, costly individuals who have spent many years at these corporations.
The cash saved throughout the pandemic because of the lack of property servicing, journey and bills prices was a short lived development that’s run its course – and the property rightsizing to account for a hybrid workforce has largely been accomplished. It’s all a part of the “doing extra with much less” equation.
AI is being ushered in quickly for a similar motive. For all of the speak of investing financial savings in higher-value artistic and strategic companies, there shall be reductions in head counts at junior ranges as sure duties are carried out by machines slightly than people.
On the massive consumer stage, margins have shrunk. Most large firms, particularly within the shopper and model sectors, aren’t rising, and the strain is filtering all the way down to businesses and different suppliers by way of lowered margins.
Working margin throughout WPP’s PR section in 2024 was 15.2%, barely down from the 16.2% of 2023 – GIA’s margins had been 15.8%, up from 15.2% within the 12 months prior.
Edelman reported 6.7% progress amongst its prime 100 purchasers, with a 2.8% uptick amongst international purchasers. However these kinds of account more and more require a level of overservicing that might finally result in a race to the underside.
And in case you lose a kind of large items of enterprise, the knock-on results are vital. Edelman has labored with Unilever for 40 years throughout the communication, company advisory and model advertising segments of the CPG behemoth. However the British-based multinational firm simply appointed a brand new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, after simply two years underneath the management of Hein Schumacher.
Elementary modifications reminiscent of which can be at all times going to position businesses on alert, although CEO Edelman notes his agency is “doing very properly with Unilever throughout Dove and 12-15 of the corporate’s different manufacturers.”
Midsize corporations are persevering with to prosper on this new actuality, offering nimble, artistic companies led by people who can nonetheless play lively roles with their businesses’ purchasers and supply the non-public service and senior counsel clients crave greater than ever.
Companies with vital numbers of presidency contracts shall be extraordinarily nervous given the dismantling of federal departments by the brand new Trump administration and decimation of budgets. And non-U.S.-based manufacturers particularly are anxious about Trump’s proposed commerce tariffs.
All of the above tendencies shall be analyzed additional in PRWeek’s upcoming Company Enterprise Report, which we’re working arduous on in the mean time. Do make sure to test it out because the influence of the brand new administration and the “extra with much less” setting proceed to play out available in the market.
